The Civil Aviation (Safety of Third-Country Aircraft) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 1384). These regulations came into force on 30 June 2006 and implement into UK law EU Directive 2004/36/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on the safety of aircraft from outside the Community using Community Airports ("the Directive"). The Directive relates to the performance of ramp inspections on such aircraft and provides for the collection and retention of safety information.

The Regulations apply to any third-country aircraft, excluding state aircraft, that lands at an aerodrome in the United Kingdom and is suspected of non-compliance with international safety standards. Aircraft to which the Regulations apply are required to be made subject to a ramp inspection. Inspections are carried out by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

In determining whether a third-country aircraft is suspected of non-compliance with the international safety standards, the following are some of the matters to be taken into account:

  • information regarding poor maintenance of, or obvious damage or defects to, an aircraft;
  • reports that an aircraft has performed abnormal manoeuvres since entering the airspace of a Member State which give rise to serious safety concerns;
  • safety deficiencies revealed by a previous ramp inspection which give rise to concerns that the deficiencies may not have been corrected and the relevant aircraft does not comply with international safety standards;
  • evidence that the State in which an aircraft is registered may not be exercising proper safety oversight; and
  • safety deficiencies recorded in a ramp inspection report on any other aircraft used by that operator.

Article 4(2) of the Directive gave the option to EU Member States to implement spot check ramp inspections which could be carried out without any pre-existing suspicion of a safety concern. The UK Regulations do not provide for spot checks and therefore inspections can only take place pursuant to this legislation in relation to aircraft already suspected on noncompliance with applicable safety standards.

The Regulations provide for the dissemination by the UK Department for Transport to the European Commission, and to airworthiness authorities in each EU Member State and to the European Aviation Safety Agency, of all safety and ramp inspection reports. As the Directive aims to create an EU-wide system of ramp inspections, these Regulations also provide for the receipt by the UK Department for Transport and dissemination to the UK CAA of similar reports from other Member States. There is however a prohibition on any wider dissemination.

In addition to ramp inspections, the Regulations also provide (by amendment to the Air Navigation Order 2005) for the grounding and detention by the CAA of thirdcountry aircraft which are found to be unsafe and in breach of international safety standards, which would be obviously hazardous to flight safety and which would otherwise be likely to be flown without the necessary corrective action being undertaken.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.